Unbreak My Heart
by melpomene1013
Summary: What happens when you fall in love with someone who doesn't love you back
1. Displaced

Title: Unbreak My Heart - Displaced  
  
Author: Melpomene  
  
Email: melpomene1013yahoo.com   
  
Rating: R   
  
Spoilers: Season 3  
  
Keywords: M/O, MSR, maybe S/O, Angst  
  
Summary: What happens when you fall in   
  
love with someone who doesn't love you back.  
  
Author's Notes: I had such a good time writing  
  
"How Will I Live" that I decided to try   
  
something a little longer and more challenging.  
  
I'm a shipper all the way, but there's just  
  
something about Mulder or Scully being   
  
jealous that I just love. Thanks to   
  
Christie for all her support. Unbreak My Heart   
  
is a series that will probably be 4 or 5 parts   
  
long.   
  
Part 1 - Displaced  
  
"Scully? She's a good friend, but really--I  
  
don't think of her like that."  
  
Eavesdroppers hear nothing good of themselves.   
  
She could hear her mother's words echoing in her  
  
ears as she lay in bed, her face burning in   
  
embarrassment. Mulder's voice had woken her from  
  
a restless sleep and now she lay there helpless  
  
to do anything but overhear her partner in the  
  
next room with another woman.  
  
It had been too hot in her hotel room, so Scully'd   
  
left the sliding doors off the little balcony open   
  
when she went to bed. Mulder probably had no idea   
  
that she could hear every word he said to the   
  
beautiful Agent Veronica Alain. Every terrible,   
  
awful word.  
  
"Are you sure, Fox? I mean, you two seem awfully  
  
close."  
  
"We've been through a lot, but--well--she's really  
  
not my type."  
  
"And what is your type, Fox?" Veronica asked in a  
  
breathy voice.  
  
"Tall, slender women. Women with long, long legs  
  
and beautiful breasts," her partner answered.   
  
His voice drifted off into the sound of kissing.   
  
"Sexy women...like you. The thing is Scully's a   
  
great person but she's just not sexy."  
  
Scully pushed herself up in bed, one hand over her  
  
mouth as her eyes swam with tears. She couldn't  
  
stand a minute more, no matter how stiflingly hot  
  
the room got. She padded across the room, barely  
  
able to see beyond her tears.   
  
The gasps and moans of lovemaking drifted in as  
  
Scully reached the sliding doors and began to   
  
close them.   
  
"Oh Fox," Veronica groaned, sexily. "Harder,  
  
baby, harder."  
  
Scully slid the door closed with more force than  
  
was necessary.   
  
They had been called to a case in Newark, New   
  
Jersey, with lots of other agents--some from the   
  
local bureau office and a couple of others from   
  
Washington. A serial killer case had some   
  
paranormal aspects so Spooky Mulder and the   
  
little woman's talents were required.   
  
It didn't take long for Agent Veronica Alain to   
  
gravitate toward Mulder. She'd blatently flirted,   
  
and Mulder had flirted back. Agent Alain was new  
  
to the Washington DC office, having recently   
  
transferred from the Atlanta Field Office. She'd  
  
heard, all about Fox Mulder and was just thrilled   
  
to meet the legend.   
  
It didn't surprise Scully that Mulder had cracked  
  
the case after they'd only been there a week. It  
  
was even more amazing considering how much of a   
  
distraction Veronica was. Maybe if his whole mind  
  
had been on the case, they could have wrapped it   
  
up in a day instead of a week.  
  
Mulder had taken Veronica to dinner that night. Oh,   
  
he'd asked Scully if she wanted to come along for a  
  
"end of the case" celebration, but it had been obvious   
  
that he was only being polite. He'd actually looked   
  
relieved when Scully had said she'd planned on   
  
ordering room service and having an early night.   
  
Veronica had smirked at her.   
  
"Oh Fox, honey," Veronica said, in her syrupy   
  
Southern accent. "I'm sure Agent Scully would   
  
like to have an early night. A girl has to get   
  
her beauty sleep after all."   
  
It was pretty clear that as far as Veronica was   
  
concerned, Scully could sleep for a hundred years   
  
and still be a dumpy, pale-faced nothing. Sadly,   
  
though he'd never say it to her face, it seemed   
  
that Mulder agreed.  
  
He'd been a good friend to Scully--she couldn't deny  
  
it. He was polite, warm, funny and treated her as an  
  
equal. Having worked so hard to be taken seriously  
  
as an agent, she was incredibly grateful to have a  
  
partner who respected her. But deep down, she  
  
knew she'd give it all up in a heartbeat if he would  
  
just see her as a woman.   
  
She'd had a crush on him, almost from the very beginning.  
  
One flash of that smile, one look into those tortured  
  
eyes and Scully was a goner. She did her best to hide  
  
it, but something must have given her away. Mulder   
  
was gentle, but he made it clear that he didn't feel  
  
the same way. He wouldn't even let her call him by his  
  
first name. She noticed Veronica called him by his   
  
first name.  
  
Mulder was driven, obsessed with his work. He didn't  
  
date a lot, but when he did, it was always the same  
  
kind of woman: tall, leggy brunettes, with the   
  
occasional tall, leggy blonde thrown in. Veronica  
  
Alain was wasn't just his type--she was the epitome of   
  
his type, and he'd waisted no time in getting her into   
  
his bed.  
  
Tears poured from Scully's eyes and sobs shook her body.  
  
Mulder thought she was hideous--fat and dumpy and covered  
  
with freckles. Ironically, she had put on weight   
  
because she was unhappy over Mulder's lack of interest.  
  
Days spent trailing behind a handsome, oblivious man  
  
led to nights spent digging into a quart of Rocky Road  
  
ice cream.  
  
As her body ballooned up, she tried to cover it with  
  
loose clothing. It broke her heart to watch Mulder  
  
flirt with a willowy secretary or the gorgeous  
  
fingerprint expert. He never tried to hide his   
  
actions from her--any more than he would have from   
  
a male partner.   
  
It had been bad before her abduction, but since she  
  
was returned, his inability to return her feelings   
  
bothered her even more. Her body had been flabby  
  
and she'd been bloated even more than normal from   
  
whatever they did to her. She felt uglier than ever,  
  
and her emotions were raw and painful.  
  
Scully's pajamas stuck to her clammy skin as she tossed  
  
and turned and tried not to hear what was going on  
  
in the next room. Scully turned on the TV, hoping   
  
to drown out any sounds of sex. Sweating in the hot   
  
room, Scully cried herself to sleep.  
  
The next morning, still exhausted from a night of  
  
tossing and turning, Scully stood under the shower   
  
spray for a long time. Unfortunately, even the   
  
long hot shower didn't help her depression.  
  
She put on the morning news as she dressed and tried  
  
not to listen for sounds from the next room. Eventually,  
  
the sound of running water could be heard through the  
  
wall. Scully left the hotel room, closing the door  
  
firmly as she pushed the image of Mulder and Veronica  
  
making love in the shower out of her mind.  
  
She sat in the hotel coffee shop picking at a plate  
  
of french toast and drinking coffee. She probably   
  
should have ordered the fruit cup.   
  
"Good morning."   
  
She startled, turning to see Mulder standing beside   
  
her. His hair was damp from the shower, and he   
  
smelled of soap.  
  
"Good morning," she replied, turning back to her coffee.  
  
She wondered if Veronica was still in his bed, still   
  
smelling of sex and Mulder.  
  
"I'm starved," he said, flagging down the waitress.   
  
He flashed the woman a brilliant smile and ordered a  
  
hideously fattening breakfast.  
  
Scully was acting strangely, Mulder thought. She was  
  
very quiet this morning. Not that Scully was much  
  
of a morning person. She was usually a bit grumpy   
  
until she had a couple of cups of coffee.   
  
He'd left Veronica asleep in his room. She hadn't   
  
woken up when he got up, or when he took a shower and  
  
got dressed, even though he wasn't particularly   
  
quiet. He had to admit, Veronica was beautiful even  
  
at 6 A.M. after a wild night of sex.  
  
And it was a wild, wild night. Veronica was insatiable.  
  
He'd never had a sexual partner who excited him the  
  
way Veronica did. He'd been drawn to her from the first  
  
moment he saw her at the field office when he and  
  
Scully arrived on the case.   
  
It was as if Veronica had been created just for him--tall,  
  
with mile long legs and a mane of long black hair. And  
  
incredible breasts. He had a hard time keeping his   
  
mind on the case. Scully had to call his attention back  
  
to the evidence a couple of times, and she'd seemed  
  
kind of annoyed. She'd acted funny when he asked her to  
  
come to dinner with him and Veronica. Truth was, he was  
  
glad she'd decided to eat dinner in her room--having her  
  
there would have put a cramp in his style with Veronica.  
  
It had been a little odd, making love to Veronica with   
  
Scully in the next room. Mulder couldn't decide if it   
  
would have been less strange with a male partner in   
  
the next room. If Scully was a guy, he could joke   
  
about getting lucky and they'd both probably laugh  
  
about it. But you couldn't do that with a female   
  
partner.  
  
This morning, Scully seemed quieter than usual. She  
  
sipped at her coffee and moved a piece of french toast  
  
around in a puddle of syrup on her plate.   
  
"What time does our flight leave?" he asked. He knew   
  
the answer to the question, and he knew she knew he  
  
knew the answer to the question, but he couldn't think  
  
of anything else to break the silence.   
  
"Two o'clock. We still have a debriefing before the  
  
flight."  
  
"Good," Mulder said, as the waitress brought his   
  
pancakes, eggs and sausage. "I'm going to see if  
  
Ronni wants to fly home with us."  
  
"You two seemed to hit it off," she said, taking a  
  
sip of her coffee. Something wasn't right, he  
  
thought--her voice sounded odd.  
  
"I guess we did," he replied. "Is something wrong,  
  
Scully?"  
  
"No," she said, a little too quickly to be convincing.  
  
"I better finish packing before we go to the debriefing."  
  
She stood up and left some money to cover her breakfast  
  
and left.   
  
Mulder finished his breakfast and returned to his room,  
  
picking up a coffee-to-go for Veronica. He found Ronni  
  
naked, just stepping out of the shower. Her wet hair   
  
hung down, almost to her waist in dark curls. Mulder's  
  
eyes opened a little wider when he realized in the   
  
bright light of day that Ronni had no tan lines. Her  
  
skin was bronzed from hairline to red-painted toes.  
  
"Hey, baby," Ronni purred as she stalked over to him,  
  
her hips swaying seductively. As she reached him, she  
  
gripped the waistband of his pants and pulled him to  
  
her.  
  
Before he knew it, his clothes were off and he was   
  
taking Ronni from behind. His hands gripping her   
  
hips, he buried himself to the hilt in her. Ronni   
  
arched her back, tossing her long hair as she came.  
  
"OH GOD," he shouted as his own orgasm peeked. He   
  
thought he heard a drawer slam in the next room, but  
  
he wasn't sure if it was his imagination.   
  
He and Ronni collapsed onto the bed, both breathing   
  
hard. The sounds of movement and the TV drifted in  
  
from the next room. Mulder wondered how much Scully  
  
had heard of his and Ronni's lovemaking.   
  
"You're going to wear me out," he said, brushing his  
  
thumb across Veronica's nipple.   
  
"If you're lucky," she replied, laughing. "I better  
  
get back to my room and get dressed."   
  
She slipped into her clothes, kissed him hard enough  
  
to rattle his teeth and went to the door. "We're  
  
going to be late if we don't get a move on. Meet  
  
you downstairs in 15 minutes?"  
  
"Sure," he answered.  
  
He got dressed as quickly as he could, tossing items  
  
into his suitcase as he moved around the room. He had  
  
a funny feeling that Scully had been overhearing a   
  
little more than he was comfortable with. Scully  
  
was pretty much by the book. He wasn't sure how   
  
she felt about hooking up with people out in the  
  
field. He couldn't imagine why she'd have a problem   
  
with it--Ronni was a fellow agent, and they hadn't  
  
gotten together until after the case was wrapped up.  
  
Mulder grabbed his suitcase and went next door to  
  
Scully's room, figuring they'd check out before  
  
the debriefing. He knocked on the door, but no   
  
noise came from inside the room.   
  
"Scully!" he called out. His greeting was met by  
  
silence. More minutes spent knocking, waiting and  
  
calling her name produced nothing. He checked his  
  
watch, realizing he'd be late to the meeting if he  
  
didn't hurry.  
  
When he went to the front desk, he found out that   
  
Scully had checked out a half hour ago. He frowned,  
  
wondering why Scully hadn't waited for him. He went  
  
out to find their rental car was gone.  
  
Standing in the bright sunlight, he looked at the  
  
spot he'd parked in last night, now empty. He  
  
couldn't believe Scully had left him behind.   
  
Mulder caught a ride to the meeting with Ronni.  
  
"Your partner must be pretty upset to strand you,"  
  
she said, as she eased her rental car into traffic.  
  
"I'm sure she just didn't want to be late." He stared  
  
out the window.   
  
"I think she has a crush on you." Ronni laughed,  
  
tossing her mane of black curls. "As if a dowdy little  
  
thing like her would ever stand a chance with you."  
  
"She's not dowdy," he countered. "She's...I just  
  
don't think of her that way. It has nothing to do  
  
with looks."  
  
The debriefing meeting had already begun when they  
  
arrived at the field office. Scully was on the   
  
other side of the room, separated from him by a   
  
dozen agents and police officers. She barely glanced  
  
at he and Ronni when they entered the room.  
  
The details of the case were gone over, each point  
  
disected in an effort to understand the events. They  
  
were all thanked for their efforts and finally  
  
released.   
  
"Scully," Mulder called out as he followed her out   
  
into the hallway. "What happened back at the motel?"  
  
She glanced down the hall at Ronni, who stood   
  
reading the notices on a bulletin board. Scully  
  
turned and looked up at him.   
  
"What do you mean?" she asked innocently. "Nothing  
  
happened."  
  
"You left me there," he said.   
  
"We must have gotten our wires crossed, Mulder. I   
  
thought you were coming with Agent Alain."  
  
Mulder felt himself blush at her innocent turn of phrase.  
  
He certainly had been "coming" with Agent Alain.   
  
And coming. And if he played his cards right, he'd   
  
come some more soon. But right now, he was interested  
  
in easing the tension between him and Scully.  
  
"Yeah," he agreed. "We got our wires crossed. Are  
  
you ready to leave?"  
  
"Fox, honey," Ronni purred, coming up behind him.   
  
"We better hurry if we're going to make our flight."  
  
"See you at the airport," Scully said as she turned  
  
and walked down the hall, her heels clicking loudly.  
  
"You sure she isn't mad?" Ronni asked, ironically.   
  
"She seems mad to me."   
  
"She's not mad."   
  
They drove to the airport and turned in Ronni's rental  
  
car. Scully was already at the gate when they arrived.  
  
"Hey Scully," he greeted his partner, who stood looking  
  
out the big windows at the planes on the tarmac.  
  
Ronni was hanging on his arm, her breast pressed into  
  
his bicep. The gate personnel began to call passengers  
  
for boarding, beginning with those with young children  
  
or disabilities.  
  
"Agent Scully, would you mind switching seats with me?"  
  
Veronica asked, sweetly. "Fox and I wanted to sit   
  
together."  
  
Mulder couldn't believe Ronni had done that--he   
  
certainly hadn't said anything about not wanting to  
  
sit with Scully. In fact, he'd hoped to reconnect  
  
with Scully on the trip home--to find out what was  
  
bothering her.   
  
"Ronni," he began, but he wasn't really sure how to  
  
handle this mess.  
  
"No problem, Agent Alain," Scully said as she offered  
  
her seat assignment to Ronni. With a glowing smile,  
  
Ronni exchanged tickets.  
  
"Well, you're just the sweetest little thing, letting  
  
Fox and me have some time together," Ronnie gushed,  
  
fakely, her Southern accent in overdrive.  
  
"Don't mention it," Scully replied.   
  
"Oh Fox, they just called our row," Ronni said,   
  
looking at her newly acquired ticket. "Come on,  
  
darlin'"  
  
Ronni pulled him through the door and down the   
  
walkway to their seats. He watched as Scully  
  
moved down the aisle, finding her seat on the  
  
other side of the plane. He and Ronni's seats  
  
were a few rows ahead of Scully's, so he wasn't  
  
able to see her once they were both seated.  
  
Once they were in the air, Ronni asked the flight  
  
attendant for a blanket, which she spread over her  
  
and Mulder's laps. She leaned close and whispered   
  
into his ear, telling him all the things she was   
  
going to do to him that night, in intricate detail.   
  
He had a hard time thinking about Scully when Ronni   
  
did that. Damn, he could barely remember his name   
  
as Ronni nibbled on his ear and slid her hand up  
  
his thigh under the blanket. He tried to be quiet,  
  
but a moan escaped his lips.  
  
Scully sat a few rows back, flipping through the  
  
airline magazine and trying hard not to cry. He  
  
seatmate, an older businessman, was already asleep,  
  
his face turned toward the window. Scully bit her  
  
lip as she heard Mulder's unmistakable moan. She  
  
would know that sound anywhere, though the only  
  
times she had heard it were when Mulder was hurt.  
  
Somehow, she knew he wasn't hurting right now.   
  
The sound of Veronica's rather false laugh sailed  
  
back to Scully, reminding her again that the other  
  
woman had what Scully so desperately wanted. Mulder.  
  
Scully would give anything if she was the one   
  
making Mulder moan, but that would never happen.  
  
Mulder had completely shut her out. Damn it.   
  
Scully had thought her relationship with Mulder   
  
meant more to him than it apparently did now.  
  
One look at Veronica's big breasts and he forgot  
  
he had a partner.   
  
The flight seemed to go on forever, but finally,  
  
they landed and the usual standing and waiting for  
  
the passengers ahead to move began. Scully waited  
  
patiently for her turn to step into the aisle and  
  
move forward.  
  
By the time Scully disembarked, Mulder and Ronni   
  
were far ahead of her. Scully had caught a ride to  
  
the airport with Mulder, and had assumed he would   
  
drive her home. She scanned the terminal, but  
  
couldn't see him.  
  
As she traveled down the escalator to street level,  
  
she spotted Mulder and Ronni as they walked to the  
  
parking lot doors. Mulder carried both his and  
  
Ronni's bags and they seemed to be laughing at  
  
something.   
  
Scully followed them, her own suitcases heavy, the   
  
handles cutting into her hands. She continued to   
  
hope that Mulder would turn around and see her.   
  
Toying with the idea of screeching out his name,   
  
Scully decided Ronni would find that much too   
  
amusing.   
  
She finally broke through the double doors,   
  
just in time to see Mulder and Ronni drive   
  
away. Scully stood on the sidewalk and felt  
  
hot tears trail down her face.   
  
"You okay, lady?" the skycap asked, peering at  
  
her.  
  
"I'm fine," she said, sniffling, but the truth  
  
was, she was as far from fine as she could get.  
  
She'd lost Mulder.   
  
To be continued in part 2.... 


	2. Excluded

Title: Unbreak My Heart - Excluded  
  
Author: Melpomene  
  
Email: melpomene1013yahoo.com   
  
Rating: R   
  
Spoilers: Season 3  
  
Keywords: M/O, MSR, maybe S/O, Angst  
  
Summary: What happens when you fall in   
  
love with someone who doesn't love you back.  
  
Author's Notes: Unbreak My Heart is a series  
  
that will probably be 4 or 5 parts long. Thanks  
  
to everyone for their kind words on Unbreak  
  
My Heart.   
  
Part 2 - Excluded  
  
It had been three months since Mulder met Veronica  
  
Alain on a case in New Jersey. Three miserable,  
  
lonely months. Scully checked her watch. 2:14  
  
and Mulder wasn't back from lunch yet.  
  
This was getting to be an everyday occurance--  
  
Mulder left for lunch at 12:30 and returned well  
  
after two o'clock. Scully was pretty sure he had a   
  
nooner with Ronni every day and it was beginning to  
  
piss her off. Mulder could do whatever he wanted on  
  
his lunch hour--he could skydive or wrestle alligators  
  
if he wanted. But taking a two hour lunch every day  
  
was inconsiderate and unprofessional.   
  
Mulder, who pre-Ronni had seemed to live at the office--  
  
arriving before eight a.m. and working twelve hour days,  
  
was a thing of the past. Now, he got to work well  
  
after nine and left earlier and earlier--mostly after  
  
a phone call from Ronni. With a two hour lunch in  
  
the middle of the day, it was pretty clear that work  
  
was no longer important to Mulder.   
  
Several times Scully had been forced to cover for  
  
her partner when Skinner called looking for him. She  
  
hated lying to her boss, telling him that Mulder was  
  
chasing down evidence in the fingerprint labs, or   
  
hadn't been feeling well and left a few minutes early.  
  
She'd had to make fib today, telling Skinner that   
  
Mulder was held up in traffic on his way back from   
  
lunch. She vowed to lay the law down to her   
  
partner--no more covering for him with the boss.  
  
Scully missed her partner. Before Ronni, Mulder   
  
would have lunch with Scully. They'd buy sandwiches  
  
from the lunch cart and eat as they worked. When the  
  
weather was nice, they'd walk to the mall and eat on   
  
a park bench.  
  
These days, with Scully so depressed, lunch was a Diet  
  
Coke at her desk, where she'd try her best not to  
  
look at the clock and wonder where Mulder was and  
  
what he was doing. Some days, she put on her track  
  
shoes and walked four or five miles in an effort to   
  
release some of her anger.   
  
To reduce some of her stress, she'd joined a   
  
kick-boxing class that met after work. It wasn't   
  
as if she had anything else to do with her   
  
evenings--no one called her and she rarely had   
  
plans. Hell, Mulder had been the only one   
  
who'd phoned or visited in the evenings--usually   
  
bouncing ideas off her. Now his nights were   
  
occupied with Ronni Alain.   
  
The only bright spot was, with all the missed lunches,  
  
and marathon walks, she was losing a lot of weight. After  
  
her kick-boxing class, she rarely had much of an appetite,  
  
so she barely ate dinner. Not that heartache and stress  
  
was the weight loss program she would have chosen.   
  
The truth was, Scully was worried about Mulder. He   
  
was neglecting his work as much as he was neglecting his  
  
partner. Scully hadn't liked Veronica Alain from the very   
  
first, but she'd chalked it up to jealousy. It was only  
  
when she overheard AD Skinner's assistant in the ladies  
  
room talking to one of the other admins that she realized  
  
how serious the problem was.  
  
"So, did you hear who Veronica Alain has her hooks into  
  
now?" Skinner's assistant had asked. "Agent Mulder."  
  
"You're kidding. Old Spooky is getting some? I guess  
  
it's not hard to believe, really. They don't seem to  
  
be able to resist her."  
  
"I know. But that woman's a man-eater. Did you know she  
  
broke up Agent Finsterbusch's marriage? And Bill O'Malley  
  
got tossed off the Wilson case because he missed so much  
  
time--he was off doing the nasty with that she-devil."  
  
"I could swear I saw her cuddling up to her boss in the  
  
parking garage one night."  
  
"She's an alley-cat, all right. Probably sleeping with  
  
the both of them."  
  
Scully had waited until the two women left before coming  
  
out of her stall. If she thought it would do any good, she'd  
  
have talked to Mulder about Ronni. With her luck, Mulder  
  
would not only assume she was jealous, but he'd think her  
  
complaining pathetic. After all, it wasn't as if he'd   
  
ever look Scully's way. She sighed and looked at her  
  
watch again. 2:35.  
  
"Hey Scully," Mulder said, bursting into the room. He   
  
hung his jacket up. "Sorry I'm late."  
  
Scully bit the inside of her cheek to keep from   
  
screaming and kept her eyes on her computer screen.  
  
Mulder got comfortable behind his desk, flipping  
  
through a stack of papers. The bastard had the   
  
audacity to be humming.  
  
Something inside her snapped. Pushing herself   
  
away from the desk, she grabbed the report she  
  
owed Skinner.   
  
"Spare me the apologies, okay, Mulder? Either  
  
get back from lunch at a reasonable time, or take  
  
two hours, but don't waist my time and yours with  
  
an apology for something you have no intention of  
  
changing. And by the way--I've covered your ass  
  
for the last time with Skinner. After this, you're  
  
on your own."   
  
Scully stalked out of the office, slamming the door  
  
behind her.  
  
Mulder felt his face redden. He stared at the   
  
closed door, as if he could still see Scully.   
  
She had every right to be angry. Every day,   
  
he told Ronni they'd have to have a quick lunch   
  
and every damn day, they ended up at her   
  
apartment, in her bed.   
  
Unfortunately, all his good intentions went right   
  
out the window when Ronni talked dirty to him. It  
  
was like he was powerless. Sometimes, it was   
  
exciting--like skydiving or driving fast, but more  
  
and more, it was feeling uncomfortable. The worst   
  
part was feeling that he was losing Scully's  
  
respect.  
  
It was like his brain went on hiatus when Ronni   
  
touched him and he ended up doing stupid thoughtless  
  
things, mostly to Scully. He cringed when he thought  
  
about forgetting Scully at the airport when he first  
  
met Ronni. He'd been in such a heightened state of   
  
arousal from Ronni's caresses under the blanket,   
  
getting her somewhere private was all his mind   
  
could fathom.   
  
Shamefully, it wasn't until the next day that he'd   
  
remembered Scully.  
  
He didn't love Ronni--he knew that. She was fun and  
  
lively and far too sexy for his sanity, but he knew  
  
there was no deep connection. It was a case of out  
  
of sight, out of mind. If she was near him, touching  
  
him, slipping her tongue into his mouth, he was so  
  
turned on he couldn't remember his own name, much   
  
less his partner's. But if she wasn't with him, he  
  
rarely thought about her; he'd forget to call her if   
  
he was busy on a case.   
  
Lucky for him, as an agent, Ronni knew all about the   
  
work. That was probably the best part of dating her.   
  
She understood when he was called out of town on a   
  
moments notice. Hell, sometimes Ronni was the one   
  
who got called out of town.  
  
And Ronni understood the stress that came from   
  
fighting monsters--at least the human ones. She   
  
didn't entirely believe in the non-human ones, but   
  
didn't tease him too much about it.   
  
The only thing Ronni seemed to have a problem with   
  
was Scully. Not that she believed for a second   
  
that Mulder was interested in Scully. Ronni thought   
  
Scully was unattractive and mousy. She'd gotten into   
  
the habit of making disparaging comments about his   
  
partner's weight until he finally asked her to stop.  
  
The truth was, he thought his partner looked just fine:  
  
natural and healthy. He didn't understand why women   
  
wanted to look like skeltons anyway. Every time Mulder   
  
saw Scully's dewy skin and blue eyes sparkling with   
  
intelligence, he couldn't help but remember seeing her   
  
near death in the hospital after her abduction. Every   
  
time, he reveled in her health.  
  
But he couldn't help but notice how unhappy she was  
  
lately, and he wished he understood why. He may have  
  
been preoccupied with Ronni these days, but he wasn't  
  
totally oblivious. Something was wrong, and had been  
  
wrong for months.   
  
Scully walked back into the room, going straight to   
  
her computer and getting back to work. She seemed to  
  
have calmed down, or maybe it was just resignation that  
  
her partner was a shit and there was nothing she could  
  
do about it.   
  
He decided that he had to do something to change her  
  
opinion of him. Mulder needed to put his attention  
  
where it should have been for months--on his work and  
  
part of that was making peace with his beleaguered  
  
partner.  
  
"Scully?"   
  
"Hmm."  
  
"You free for dinner tonight?" he asked.  
  
"Why?" she asked warily. She wondered if he was   
  
teasing her. It wasn't as if she had dozens of  
  
boyfriends waiting to take her out.   
  
"I thought we could get something to eat--you   
  
know--talk, laugh. You're my friend and I want   
  
to spend time with you. Come on--for old times   
  
sake, Scully."  
  
She eyed him suspiciously, then looked down at her  
  
hands. Old times sake. She fought to keep the   
  
tears from coming. God, how she missed him.  
  
"What about Ronni?" she asked. "Don't you have  
  
plans with her?"  
  
"Ronni and I aren't joined at the hip," he protested.  
  
"Contrary to recent appearances." He smiled at her,   
  
casually lounging back in his chair. "Besides, she  
  
got called out of town on a case."  
  
Scully laughed, but it wasn't a joyful sound. "Ah.  
  
I guess that explains it." So, she was good enough  
  
to spend time with when the main squeeze was out of  
  
town. She ought to tell him to take a hike, but   
  
it had been a long time since she ate dinner with a  
  
man who wasn't a blood relation.   
  
"Okay. Dinner it is."  
  
Tension flowed out of Mulder. He vowed to use this  
  
opportunity to spend time with Scully and mend their  
  
frayed partnership. Scully deserved it. Hell, he  
  
deserved it. He missed spending time with Scully--  
  
it was as exhilirating as a dip in a pool of crystal  
  
clear water.  
  
Time flew by when they bantered and argued over   
  
anything and everything. He'd never known someone  
  
as mentally sharp as Scully.   
  
The afternoon passed quietly as they finished their  
  
work. They'd decided on Mario's, a casual, family  
  
run restaurant that they both liked.   
  
"How about I pick you up around seven?" he asked as  
  
he slipped on his jacket.   
  
"That's so far out of your way, Mulder. Why don't  
  
I meet you there? 7:30?"   
  
"7:30, it is," he replied.   
  
Scully went home and tried to figure out what to   
  
wear. She wasn't fooling herself that this was a   
  
date, so she passed by her dressier things, Some of   
  
her clothes had started to get loose on her, so she   
  
moved them to the back of her closet. She finally   
  
settled on a pair of black slacks she hadn't been   
  
able to fit into for a year and a gray cashmere   
  
sweater.   
  
She took a quick shower and fussed with her hair. She  
  
was getting tired of this hairstyle--it needed too much  
  
attention with the curling iron to get it right, and   
  
she rarely had time to spend on it.   
  
Scully took a hard look at herself in the mirror.   
  
She'd never been one to worry about her appearance.   
  
Her education and then her work had always been the   
  
main focus of her life. She could never hope to   
  
compete with someone like Ronni Alain, so the chances   
  
of Mulder ever noticing the sober little redhead at   
  
his elbow were next to nil.   
  
She applied her makeup with a careful hand, applying  
  
a little extra eye shadow to accentuate her eyes. Well,  
  
this was as good as it was going to get, she thought,  
  
washing the makeup from her hands. Time to get to Mario's.  
  
Mulder's cell phone rang as he got into his car to  
  
drive home from work.   
  
"Fox, baby," Ronni purred through the phone. "Change  
  
in plans--I don't have to leave until tomorrow. Baby,   
  
I'm going to do things to you tonight that are illegal  
  
in 3 states."  
  
Damn. Damn, damn, damn. He was getting hard just  
  
listening to her voice. Why did she have to finish  
  
her case early? She wasn't going to like what he  
  
had to tell her.  
  
"That's nice, Ronni," he said. "Um, I sort of made  
  
plans for dinner tonight though."  
  
"Break them," she said, laughing. "You don't need   
  
indigestion from greasy cheesestake sandwiches,   
  
anyway. Tell those crazy friends of yours that   
  
you have a better offer. I'm much hotter than   
  
they are."  
  
"I...uh...didn't make plans with the guys, Ronni.   
  
I'm having dinner with Scully tonight. We have a  
  
case to go over."   
  
He hoped the last bit about a case would deflect   
  
some of Ronni's jealousy, but wasn't at all happy.   
  
He finally got her off the phone and Mulder drove home,   
  
pondering friendship, loyalty and how he could balance   
  
out his relationships.  
  
By the time he arrived at his apartment, he was running  
  
a little late. He'd have to hurry if he was going to  
  
grab a shower. Mulder retrieved his mail from the mail  
  
box and raced up the stairs, not wanting to take the time  
  
waiting for the elevator.   
  
This dinner was important, he thought, as he unlocked   
  
the door and pushed it open. His relationship with Scully  
  
was hanging by a tenuous thread. Any more stupidity on   
  
his part and that thread might just snap.  
  
His apartment was looking rather neglected these days.   
  
Ronni preferred her own place. She didn't like making   
  
love on his couch and really didn't understand why he   
  
couldn't toss all the crap out of his bedroom.  
  
Mulder turned on the shower and stripped off his clothes.   
  
Stepping under the stream of water, he washed his hair  
  
and body. He thought he heard a door close as he turned  
  
off the water, but assumed it was his next door neighbor's  
  
door. He wrapped a towel around his hips and left the   
  
bathroom.  
  
"Hey baby."  
  
Oh. Shit. Ronni was stretched out on his sofa. She must have  
  
come straight over.   
  
"I'm on my way out, Ronni."   
  
"Baby, I couldn't wait to see you," she said, ignoring his  
  
words as she rose and stalked over to him, wearing skin-tight   
  
leather slacks, a red halter top that bearly covered her full  
  
breasts and strappy high-heeled sandals.   
  
"I have to get dressed. Maybe I could come by your place for   
  
a drink later," he suggested.  
  
"I'd say you were wearing too much, baby," Ronni said as she  
  
pulled the damp towel off him. His erection popped up between  
  
them. "Looks like at least part of you is happy to see me."   
  
Before he could protest, she had pulled off her top and   
  
was on her knees sucking him. He should have pushed her   
  
away--he knew this was wrong, but his hands wound their way   
  
into her hair as she dug her fingers into his ass and   
  
hollowed her cheeks.  
  
Afterwords, as he lay spent on his couch with Ronni draped   
  
over him, he felt anger rise in him. For a brief moment, he   
  
was angry with Ronni for coming over when she knew he was   
  
supposed to be meeting Scully. Scully. Damn it. He was a   
  
pig to allow himself to be distracted this way. But all it  
  
took was Ronni's mouth on his cock and he forgot his commitment   
  
to his friend.  
  
It was himself that he was angry with. Ronni wasn't to blame   
  
here--he was. Ronni was what she was--a purely sexual being.   
  
She breathed sex. She oozed it. And he was just the kind of   
  
highly sexed man who couldn't resist a woman like her. She  
  
was like crack cocaine and he was just a junkie.  
  
"Get up," he said, pushing on Ronni's shoulder. "I have to  
  
get dressed."  
  
"You're angry," Ronni said, sliding off him. She sat on the  
  
couch, feet up on the coffee table, completely at ease in   
  
her nakedness. She pouted prettily. "Don't try to tell   
  
me you didn't want that as much as I did, Fox."  
  
"If I'm angry, it's only at myself," he replied as he retrieved  
  
the clothes he'd took out earlier and started to dress. "No   
  
matter how much I wanted you, I had a commitment tonight."  
  
"Don't worry. I'm sure she's still there, waiting for you."  
  
Her tone said she thought Scully had nothing better to do   
  
than hang around and wait for someone else's man.   
  
"I have to go," he said when he'd finished tying his shoes.   
  
"I'll talk to you later."  
  
As he grabbed his keys and ran out the door, he wasn't sure   
  
if finding an angry Scully waiting at Mario's was better   
  
than discovering that she'd left. He tried not to picture  
  
the hurt in her eyes as he got into his car and backed it  
  
out of the parking space.  
  
Traffic did not cooperate as he headed over to Mario's. It  
  
was nearly eight o'clock when he found a parking space and   
  
trotted to the entrance. He nearly ran smack into Scully   
  
as she walked out the door. Her face was a mask of anger   
  
as she hugged her jacket around her.  
  
"I'm sorry, Scully. I got hung up and lost track of time,"  
  
he said, touching her arm.  
  
She breathed in the scent of him, detecting his aftershave  
  
and the musk of sex. Scully shrugged his hand away and  
  
pushed past him. Raising her chin, she looked into  
  
his eyes.  
  
"Yeah. I'm sure something came up, Mulder. Something always  
  
does."  
  
She turned and walked away.  
  
Continued in part 3.... 


	3. Rejected

Title: Unbreak My Heart - Rejected  
  
Author: Melpomene  
  
Email: melpomene1013yahoo.com   
  
Rating: R   
  
Spoilers: Season 3  
  
Keywords: M/O, MSR, maybe S/O, Angst  
  
Summary: What happens when you fall in   
  
love with someone who doesn't love you back.  
  
Author's Notes: Unbreak My Heart is a series.  
  
I originally thought it would only run 4 or 5 parts  
  
but it's looking like I'll need 5 or 6 parts to   
  
tell the story. I want to thank all the people  
  
who've written to me in support of the story. It  
  
means a lot to me. Sorry it took me so long to  
  
get this out--life seems much crazier these days.   
  
Part 3 - Rejected  
  
Scully, please pick up. I need to talk to you.  
  
Scully, please call me and let me explain.  
  
Mulder had left her half a dozen similar voicemails   
  
on both her home phone and her cell by the time she   
  
got back to her apartment. He'd tried to follow   
  
her as she walked away from him at Mario's but she   
  
wouldn't turn around and talk to him.   
  
When he'd invited her out for dinner, he'd said she  
  
was his friend and he wanted to spend time with her.  
  
Scully didn't think he'd been lying, only that the  
  
friendship didn't run as deep for him as it did for  
  
her.  
  
Scully could smell sex on Mulder, along with Ronni's   
  
heavy perfume when he finally made it to the restaurant  
  
an hour late. The reason for his lateness was clear  
  
to her: You're my friend, Scully but Ronni is my   
  
lover.  
  
Scully decided that even though she'd taken a shower   
  
earlier, she needed to relax with a bath. She poured   
  
lavender scented bubble bath under running water and   
  
stripped off her clothes. She caught a glimpse of   
  
herself in the full length mirror on the back of her   
  
closet door as she hung her clothes up.  
  
Her figure wasn't awful. She'd lost enough weight now  
  
to fit back into some of her "skinny" clothes. Her  
  
breasts, though nicely shaped, were too small for the   
  
tastes of a man like Fox Mulder. Her waist was tiny,   
  
her hips curvy. She turned around and craned her neck,   
  
she had to admit that her butt was well toned. All in  
  
all it was actually a great ass. If only her legs   
  
weren't so short and her skin wasn't so pale.   
  
Well, she thought, it really didn't matter any more.  
  
Mulder had made his choice, and Dana Scully wasn't   
  
even on the ballot. She should be crying, but tears  
  
wouldn't come. Scully was simply too numb to feel   
  
pain over Mulder's behavior.   
  
The phone rang again as she sunk into the hot bath  
  
water. She tried not to wince at the pleading sound  
  
in Mulder's voice. The tears she didn't think would   
  
come finally arrived.  
  
Scully arrived early at the office the next morning,   
  
feeling tired from a mostly sleepless night. She was   
  
surprised to find Mulder at his desk, sipping coffee   
  
and typing away.  
  
"Good morning," he said, sheepishly. "I brought you a  
  
coffee."  
  
"Thanks," she muttered.   
  
Mulder watched her remove the lid from the paper cup and   
  
take a drink. She had shadows under her eyes like purple  
  
bruises and he felt a pang of guilt. He'd put those   
  
shadows there. He was responsible for the tense set of her  
  
jaw. He hated that his weakness had caused that.   
  
Scully needed a partner who was there for her. This time  
  
it had just been a dinner. The next time he let Ronni   
  
distract him with sex, it could be Scully's life at   
  
stake--that was the kind of danger they were in all   
  
the time.  
  
If he thought she'd accept his apology, he'd offer it again,  
  
but he was pretty sure Scully wasn't interested in hearing  
  
it. Still, she'd accepted the coffee, so maybe if he   
  
stayed on his best behavior and stopped letting Ronni  
  
dominate him sexually, she'd come around and forgive him.  
  
Over the next few weeks, Mulder did just that. He got   
  
to work on time and he avoided Ronni at lunch time so   
  
he wouldn't end up coming back late. He and Scully   
  
got back to some of their old habits of sharing sandwiches  
  
as they worked. One day when the weather was particularly  
  
nice, he even talked her into going for a walk along   
  
the mall.   
  
His strategy of avoiding situations that might tempt him  
  
worked well, but only as long as he managed to keep some  
  
distance between him and Ronni. Unless he was willing  
  
to end the relationship, he was going to have to work   
  
hard to maintain control. And Mulder wasn't willing to  
  
break up with Ronni. Or more likely he wasn't able to.  
  
There was something about the jolt he got when she   
  
touched him that wasn't easy to turn away from. Face it--  
  
he was addicted just like any junkie who couldn't resist  
  
his drug of choice.  
  
So Ronni still dominated his evenings, often pulling out all  
  
the stops as she tried every sexual trick in the book to  
  
bring Mulder to heel. She would have his pants unzipped  
  
and her hands on his cock before he got in the front door  
  
and he'd feel that "the top of his head coming off" rush.  
  
They still had massive quantities of wild sex in every   
  
conceivable position and location, but Mulder made sure   
  
he left her apartment at the end of the evening instead   
  
of sleeping over which had led to his late arrivals at work.   
  
Ronni didn't exactly like the new Mulder. She peppered  
  
him with phone calls, but now the sound of her moaning  
  
sexily into the phone was beginning to annoy him just a  
  
little even though he still got hard at the sound of her  
  
voice.  
  
It took every ounce of self-control, but Mulder no longer   
  
ducked out of the office at 4:30, something else  
  
that pissed Ronni off. Mulder wasn't sure how Ronni   
  
managed to avoid disciplinary action for the hours she  
  
kept.   
  
It helped a lot that Ronni's own job had gotten busier.  
  
She worked late a lot of nights and was out of town on   
  
cases with her boss more often, which helped Mulder   
  
concentrate on work more.  
  
Gradually, Scully's faith began to be restored in him.   
  
If things weren't returned to pre-Ronni status, they   
  
were close enough for Mulder to take a deep breath.   
  
Scully was cautiously optimistic about the partnership.   
  
Mulder didn't seem as distracted and though Ronni still  
  
called the office more often than she should, Mulder   
  
didn't get that glazed over look as much.   
  
Scully hated answering the phone when Mulder was out  
  
of the room. Ronni's tone to Scully was always   
  
incredibly condescending. Poor ugly little Agent   
  
Scully her attitude would say, Too pathetic to get   
  
a man of her own.  
  
Scully's feelings were still a little too tender for her   
  
to let down her guard, though. She kept the part of herself   
  
that still loved Mulder hidden and only let the partnership   
  
and friend part show. She did her best not to dwell on   
  
things. So the man she loved saw her as a buddy. Scully   
  
tried to keep her spirits up by keeping up with family and   
  
old friends.  
  
"Dana, you look wonderful. You've lost so much weight,"  
  
her friend Ellen said one day when they were out to lunch  
  
in a trendy DC restaurant. "How did you do it?"  
  
Scully laughed, considering the honest answer of 'misery   
  
and heartache.'   
  
"I've just been too busy to eat. Mulder and I are always  
  
running these days--chasing something or other."  
  
"So how is that partner of yours?" Ellen asked.  
  
"He's fine."  
  
Across the room, Scully heard Ronni's throaty laugh.   
  
She scanned the room, finally spotting Ronni at a   
  
table tucked into a small alcove--an alcove that was  
  
notorious in town for being the place people went who  
  
wanted to be secluded. It was popular for romantic  
  
dinners.  
  
From her vantage point, Scully could see the other table,   
  
but Ronni was unlikely to see Scully from where she sat.  
  
Ronni was leaning forward, talking intimately with a man--  
  
and it wasn't Mulder.  
  
"Dana? What is it?" Ellen asked when she saw the look  
  
of shock on Scully's face.   
  
"That's Mulder's girlfriend at the alcove table," Scully   
  
said, her voice low.   
  
"Oh my God, that woman is an FBI agent?" her friend asked.  
  
"She dresses like a tramp. So, is that the famous Mulder?"  
  
"Umm...no it isn't," Scully said. Ronni was leaning  
  
forward flirtatiously, tossing back her long dark hair.   
  
Her blouse was incredibly lowcut, and the man's eyes   
  
were straying to Ronni's cleavage.   
  
"Oh my God. Do you think Mulder knows?"  
  
"I don't know--I doubt it. As far as I know, they're  
  
still together."  
  
As Scully and Ellen watched, the man gave Ronni a long  
  
box. Ronni opened the box and pulled out a sparkling  
  
diamond bracelet. Scully couldn't hear what was being  
  
said, but there was no mistaking Ronni's squeal of  
  
delight and how she leaned forward to plant a big kiss  
  
on the man's mouth.  
  
"Oh Dana, what are you going to do? Are you going to  
  
tell him?"  
  
Well, that was the question, wasn't it.   
  
"I...I'm not sure what to do."  
  
"You have to tell him. That slut can't get away with this,  
  
Dana. He should be with a wonderful person like you and   
  
not a tramp like that woman."  
  
It wasn't a topic Scully was willing to delve into with her  
  
friend, so she discretely called over the waiter for their  
  
check.   
  
As it turned out, Scully didn't get a chance to decide  
  
whether to tell Mulder. As soon as she got back from lunch,  
  
Mulder told her they were going out on a case.   
  
"Hey Scully, did you have a good lunch?" Mulder asked,  
  
grinning. He probably noticed that she'd taken an   
  
hour and a half and was toying with the idea of teasing  
  
her about her "long lunch" hour.   
  
"Um...it was fine," she stammered and Mulder's smile   
  
seemed to fade. God, she hated having this information  
  
about Ronni. Did she tell him and break his heart or   
  
keep it to herself and let him go on thinking Ronni was  
  
faithful when she probably wasn't? And would he believe   
  
her anyway? Maybe he'd think she was making it up out of  
  
jealousy, or worse yet some ploy to break them up so   
  
Mulder might turn to her.  
  
"Good. I'm glad. Hey, don't even take off your coat,"  
  
he said, excitedly. "We have a case in Randolph Hills."  
  
She felt relief at Mulder's enthusiasm--she certainly  
  
couldn't tell him about Ronni when they had work to do.  
  
He began to fill her in as they got in the car.  
  
"Travis Tilley, 56 years old, says aliens came and took  
  
his wife of 35 years--Roseanne. Neighbors say there've  
  
been bright lights around the Tilley place at night and  
  
Roseanne hasn't been seen in two weeks."  
  
They arrived at the Tilley home, an old farmhouse on   
  
several acres of untended land. Travis Tilley met them  
  
at the door. He was wizened and frail looking, obviously   
  
distraught over the supposed alien abduction of his wife.   
  
Mulder and Scully followed Tilley into the house and sat  
  
with him in the farmhouse kitchen. Tilley weakly described   
  
what to Scully sounded like textbook alien abduction.   
  
Mulder seemed to hang on every word. It sounded a little   
  
too textbook to Scully--like Tilley had read every book on   
  
the subject and committed all the details to memory.  
  
Tilley seemed to have trouble breathing by the end of his  
  
story. He mopped sweat off his forehead with a dirty  
  
handkerchief and complained of feeling ill. Scully   
  
got her doctor bag from the car. Just as she'd begun to   
  
examine Tilley, Mulder's cell phone rang.  
  
"Mulder," he said into the phone. Tilley seemed to be  
  
even more nervous now and had begun a wheezing sound in  
  
his breathing. "Oh...hi Ronni...I'm kind of tied up   
  
here...yeah...yeah."  
  
Her partner made his apologies and stepped out onto the   
  
porch to finish his phone call, his voice lowering to a  
  
murmur. Scully couldn't help the look of annoyance that   
  
crossed her features. Damn Ronni. Damn, damn Mulder   
  
for getting caught up on the call when he should be  
  
at work.   
  
Scully reached into her bag for the blood pressure cuff  
  
and felt Travis Tilley move behind her. In a flash, he  
  
had an iron grip around her neck and a kitchen knife   
  
against her chest. She called out in alarm before the  
  
pressure on her neck diminished her voice to a squawk.  
  
Mulder was listening to Ronni go on about how she wanted  
  
to get him alone tonight when he heard Scully shout. He  
  
hurriedly disengaged the call, but by the time he reached   
  
the door, it was too late. He could see Scully, hanging  
  
rather limply in Tilley's arms. Tilley's knife had  
  
already drawn blood as it scratched Scully's skin.  
  
Mulder felt helpless and incredibly guilty as Tilley   
  
shut and bolted the kitchen door.   
  
"Get out of here now," Tilley shouted behind the door.   
  
"I don't want to kill her, but I will if you come closer."  
  
Mulder called for backup, which arrived quickly. The  
  
hostage team pulled up, complete with a SWAT team and FBI   
  
negotiators. They pushed Mulder aside as they took   
  
over.   
  
Skinner frowned fiercely as he pulled up at the Tilley  
  
place. He wasn't at all pleased when he found that Mulder   
  
had left Scully alone with a subject while he took a personal   
  
call. Mulder was too worried about Scully to consider what   
  
the review board would have to say about that.   
  
The hostage team managed to get a listening device on  
  
the house, so Mulder was aware of every word spoken, and  
  
was beside himself with fear as he heard what Travis  
  
Tilley was saying.  
  
Inside, Scully was doing her best to keep calm. She  
  
didn't know who she was madder at--herself for letting   
  
her guard down enough to get in this predicament, or   
  
Mulder for taking a stupid call from his stupid, stupid  
  
slutty girlfriend.   
  
Over the course of five hours, Scully found out that  
  
Roseanne Tilley was dead and buried in a wooded area  
  
behind the house. Aliens had instructed Travis Tilley   
  
that Roseanne had to go. Scully feared that Tilley   
  
might get similar instructions from the aliens for her.  
  
Tilley alternated between confiding in her about how  
  
Roseanne had died and ranting wildly as he gestured  
  
with his sharp knife. Every minute, Scully knew  
  
her life was in the great danger as her captor's  
  
grip on reality weakened. He'd tilt his head as  
  
if listening to someone, sometimes nodding in   
  
agreement. The man continued to sweat, obviously  
  
under enormous stress.  
  
Finally, Tilley told her that the aliens had told him  
  
to take her down to the basement, just as they had  
  
commanded him to do with Roseanne. Scully knew her   
  
survival hinged on not allowing him to drag her down  
  
there.  
  
He sliced through her bonds with his knife, resuming his  
  
grip around her neck. When the knife began to slip from  
  
his sweaty fingers, she knew her opportunity had arrived.  
  
Tilley and Scully wrestled, his strength superior but her  
  
FBI training evening up the odds. By the time she'd   
  
gotten the knife away from him, the door burst open and  
  
Skinner, Mulder and the others entered. They subdued  
  
Tilley and Scully was finally able to breath.  
  
Mulder watched in horror as Scully tried to stand. She  
  
was bleeding from scratches on her neck and chest and   
  
holding onto her left arm. As he reached out to help her,  
  
she moaned and swayed in his arms.   
  
Mulder insisted that the paramedics check Scully out. He  
  
was horrified when he found out that her shoulder had been   
  
dislocated. Though Scully argued, she was overruled and   
  
transported to the hospital for treatment. Before Mulder   
  
left to follow the ambulance, Skinner informed him angrily   
  
that he was to report to the AD's office at nine a.m. the   
  
next morning.  
  
At the hospital, Mulder paced the waiting room while Scully   
  
was treated. He had no idea what to say to her. "I'm   
  
sorry a phone call from my oversexed girlfriend almost got   
  
you killed," just wasn't going to cut it.  
  
Finally, the nurse came and called him to the examination   
  
room where Scully was in a heated discussion with a small  
  
Pakistani doctor. Dr. Mukerjie wanted to keep her overnight,   
  
but Scully was adamant that she wanted to go home and sleep   
  
in her own bed.   
  
Mulder couldn't argue with her--she'd been through so much  
  
and obviously needed to take a little control over her  
  
own life. Scully took on her sternest look and reminded   
  
Mukerjie that she was a doctor and a federal agent and   
  
was more than capable of taking care of herself.   
  
Reluctantly, the ER doctor agreed and sent her  
  
home with painkillers, provided someone could be with  
  
her. Her arm was tightly strapped to her midsection to   
  
allow the shoulder to heel after they got it back into   
  
position. Mulder assured the doctor that he'd stay with   
  
Scully.  
  
As they left the hospital, Scully told Mulder how much  
  
Mukerjie had over-reacted. After all, she was mostly just  
  
bruised from fighting with Tilley and had a few stitches  
  
where the knife had done more than scratch her skin.  
  
She slept most of the way home, both from exhaustion and  
  
pain. Guilt poured over Mulder like a driving rain. A  
  
few weeks ago, he'd promised himself he would no longer be  
  
distracted by Ronni after standing Scully up for dinner.  
  
Today had been his worst fear--that his inattention had  
  
almost cost Scully her life. He glanced over as a   
  
streetlight illuminated a large, angry bruise on Scully's   
  
jaw. The alabaster skin of her neck was marred by the   
  
thin line of a cut.  
  
When he pulled in front of her building, he shook her gently  
  
awake. She startled violently, obviously still suffering  
  
the results of the terror she'd been in.  
  
"Sorry," he said, softly. "We're here."   
  
She moaned softly as he helped her out of the car. Her  
  
shoulder hurt like hell when she moved at all. Mulder   
  
took her by her other arm and helped her up the front  
  
walk and into the building.   
  
Her emotions swirled around like autumn leaves in the  
  
wind. She felt relief, of course, at being alive.   
  
There was a time back in Tilley's house when she was  
  
sure she wasn't going to make it. She'd thought about  
  
a lot of things during those hours, but mostly she  
  
thought about how sad it would be to die and never kiss  
  
Mulder--to never know what his soft lips felt like   
  
against hers. Well, she could live for a thousand years  
  
now, and it was still a dream that would never come true.  
  
Mulder opened the door to her apartment.  
  
"I want to change into something I can sleep in," she   
  
said as she moved slowly toward the bedroom.  
  
"Do you need any help?" Mulder asked.   
  
"I think I can manage," she replied.  
  
Obviously relieved, he beat a hasty retreat to the  
  
kitchen to make her a cup of tea and something to eat.  
  
She'd been wearing a knit top, so she decided that   
  
would be comfortable enough. Her shoulder was far too   
  
painful to unstrap her arm and change into a pajama top.   
  
She'd called her mother from the hospital. Maybe with   
  
Mom's help, she could wash up and change in the morning.   
  
She did manage to take off her slacks and put on some   
  
sweatpants, though that wasn't easy to do one-handed.  
  
"Wouldn't you be more comfortable in bed?" Mulder asked,  
  
when she came out of the bedroom. He carried a mug of   
  
tea and a plate of toast to the sofa.  
  
"Eventually," she replied. "I don't think I could manage  
  
this in bed, though." She took the mug in her good hand,  
  
gratefully sipping the hot tea. She'd craved this for   
  
hours, not only the tea, but the feeling of safety she  
  
could only get from her own home and from the presence  
  
of Mulder.   
  
A pang of sadness gripped her as she remembered yet again   
  
that he belonged to another woman. He'd make sure she  
  
was settled and comfortable and then he'd go off and make  
  
love to someone else.   
  
Scully struggled to put her mug down and take a slice of   
  
toast. She was definitely feeling the effects of the   
  
pain meds in her system. Her head felt light, as if  
  
it was a helium balloon on a long string.   
  
Mulder leaned in to help her set down her mug, his face  
  
inches away from hers. Maybe it was the drugs circulating  
  
through her veins. Maybe it was coming so close to death  
  
just hours ago. Scully couldn't tell, but the urge to   
  
kiss Mulder was overpowering.   
  
Scully moved closer, lost in the hazel depths of his eyes  
  
until her lips were touching his. She knew this was a   
  
mistake, but she'd nearly died without knowing what this  
  
felt like it. Her life had been spared, but damn it, she  
  
might not be as lucky the next time, and she had to do  
  
this.  
  
Mulder leaned into the kiss for one miraculous moment,   
  
and she was sure her heart would stop. His lips were  
  
amazing--so soft, so warm and pliant. She could live  
  
on the memory of such a kiss.  
  
Suddenly, Mulder pulled away and the miraculous moment  
  
was torn like a sheet of paper. The stunned look on  
  
his face told her all she needed to know--he was  
  
horrified. It was a wonder he didn't wipe him mouth  
  
with the back of his hand.  
  
"Scully...uh...I...uh..." he stumbled, unable to meet  
  
her eyes.   
  
"Its okay, Mulder. You don't have to explain," she said,  
  
wearily. Truth was, she couldn't bear his 'its not you  
  
its me' speech.  
  
"It's just that...well, I never thought of you..."  
  
"I said leave it alone. Please." Her voice was thick  
  
with the tears she was holding back. She couldn't   
  
keep herself together much longer. "I need you to  
  
leave."  
  
He looked deeply uncomfortable as only a man who's  
  
had an unwanted come on can look. Too bad the drugs  
  
that kept her shoulder from hurting like hell didn't  
  
do a thing for her breaking heart.   
  
"You shouldn't be alone, Scully. I promised the   
  
doctor."  
  
She laid her head against the back of the sofa and  
  
laughed. "Too bad. I'm afraid that's exactly what  
  
I am and will always be. Alone."  
  
"Don't say that," he murmured. She wasn't sure, but   
  
there might have been tears in his eyes. How  
  
incredibly ironic--the man she loved felt nothing  
  
but pity for her.  
  
"Mulder, you need to leave. Now." Her voice had  
  
become sharp, insistent, desperate.   
  
With every ounce of strength she had, Scully forced  
  
herself off the sofa, yelping with pain as she moved.  
  
Clutching her strapped arm protectively with her other  
  
hand, she shuffled over to the door. Her vision was  
  
blurred with tears as she opened the door and waited  
  
until her shocked partner walked through it. With   
  
her last remaining reserve, she shut it firmly and   
  
threw the lock.  
  
It was only then that she allowed the tears to fall.  
  
Continued in part 4. 


	4. Therapy

Title: Unbreak My Heart - Therapy  
  
Author: Melpomene  
  
Email:   
  
Rating: R   
  
Spoilers: Season 3  
  
Keywords: M/O, MSR, S/O, Angst  
  
Summary: What happens when you fall in   
  
love with someone who doesn't love you back.  
  
Author's Notes: Unbreak My Heart is a series.  
  
I originally thought it would only run 4 or 5 parts  
  
but the story just seems to be taking off in new  
  
directions so I'm not sure how long it will be.  
  
I'm really sorry this part took so long--life got  
  
really nuts.  
  
Part 4 - Therapy  
  
"Fox?"   
  
A gentle hand was shaking his shoulder. He woke  
  
to see Margaret Scully's concerned blue eyes.   
  
It took Mulder a moment to remember where he was--  
  
curled up in the hall outside Scully's door.  
  
"Why are you sleeping out here, Fox?" Mrs. Scully   
  
asked gently.   
  
He pushed himself to a sitting position, wiping  
  
a tired hand over his face. The events of the   
  
day before crashed over him--the fear he'd felt  
  
when Scully was held hostage the shame he'd felt  
  
over his causing that situation and the shock he'd   
  
felt at her kiss.   
  
"Um...Scully needed some time by herself. I   
  
was afraid she might need something, so I stayed  
  
out here."  
  
"Fox, that doesn't make sense. Why would Dana   
  
want you to leave? Did you guarrel?"   
  
"She was upset." He prayed she wouldn't press  
  
it.  
  
Margaret Scully nodded, but her expression told  
  
him she really didn't understand.   
  
"Well, why don't you come in and I'll make some  
  
coffee?"  
  
Mulder scrubbed a hand over his face and checked  
  
his watch. God, as if he wasn't in enough trouble,  
  
he was going to be late for his meeting with Skinner.  
  
"I can't Mrs. Scully. I'm going to be late for  
  
work. Will you...will you tell Dana I hope she  
  
feels better?"  
  
Mrs. Scully had her key to Scully's door ready,   
  
so he quickly waved goodbye and rounded the   
  
corner. He didn't want to take the chance of  
  
upsetting Scully should she spot him out in  
  
the hall.  
  
Mulder arrived at work with a few minutes late  
  
for his appointment with Skinner. He hadn't  
  
had time to go home, so his clothes still bore  
  
the wrinkles and stains from the horrible long  
  
day and a night spent on the floor.   
  
"Glad you could make it, Agent Mulder," Skinner  
  
said, frowning at his agent's appearance. Mulder  
  
didn't even attempt to explain. As it turned  
  
out, Skinner was the one doing all the talking  
  
anyway.  
  
"Agent Mulder, you're restricted to desk duty   
  
until the review board makes a decision on whether   
  
there will be any disciplinary action taken. I'd   
  
be surprised frankly if you aren't suspended over   
  
this." Skinner gave him a stern look before   
  
continuing.   
  
"And don't think I'm unaware of your lack of attention   
  
to the X-Files over the last few months. I don't make   
  
a point of getting involved with my agent's private   
  
lives, until their personal issues start to affect   
  
their work. You've been neglecting your responsibilities,  
  
and that has almost cost your partner her life. I don't   
  
think I need to tell you how serious this is."  
  
Mulder was so ashamed, he could barely meet the man's   
  
eyes. Skinner couldn't rake him over enough coals   
  
to make up for what he'd done to Scully.   
  
"I had a call early this morning from Agent   
  
Scully. She'll be on leave until further notice.  
  
I should tell you, Mulder--I've advised her that she  
  
needs to assess whether the trust between you   
  
had been damaged to a point that would prevent her  
  
from functioning as your partner."  
  
"What...what did she say?" Mulder asked, his voice  
  
in danger of breaking.   
  
"That she needed to think about it. You're dismissed  
  
Agent," Skinner said, solemnly.  
  
Mulder went down to his office. He unlocked the  
  
door, trying to imagine what it would be like if  
  
Scully decided she couldn't work with him any more.  
  
Mulder didn't think he could stand that.   
  
Before Ronni had distracted him, he'd realized how  
  
absolutely necessary Scully was to his work and his  
  
life. She was his anchor in a stormy sea.   
  
And now his anchor was gone and he was adrift in   
  
that ocean, not only because of a slip-up that   
  
almost got Scully killed, but because of his reaction  
  
to her kiss. He'd been totally shocked when Scully   
  
kissed him. Not by how weird it felt, but by how   
  
weird it didn't feel.  
  
Mulder had always thought of Scully as a friend--a  
  
best friend, but never as a lover. He'd been vaguely  
  
aware that she was pretty in a wholesome, girl-next-  
  
door way. Like his little sister might have been  
  
if she hadn't been taken. Mulder had never been  
  
physically attracted to the wholesome type. Or to  
  
short women or redheads.   
  
All in all, he'd been rather pleased to realize he   
  
wasn't attracted to his new partner. Mulder knew   
  
how complicated sexual relationships between partners   
  
could get. He'd gotten romantically involved with a   
  
partner when he was a rookie agent and it hadn't ended   
  
happily. Hell, Ronni was just a coworker and things   
  
had gotten way out of hand. Keeping his partnership   
  
on a friends only basis was safe, comfortable, perfect.  
  
He'd never thought of Scully in a sexual context...at   
  
least not until now. Now, he couldn't help thinking   
  
about how soft her lips felt, how sweet she tasted,   
  
her clean, fresh scent.   
  
Mulder doubted Scully would talk to him if he called  
  
her. It was insanity to try, but he had to do it.  
  
He owed her a dozen apologies--for being a weak-willed  
  
sex toy, for getting her hurt and for hurting her   
  
feelings last night. He dialed her number and   
  
nervously waited.  
  
Mrs. Scully answered, kindly telling him that Dana  
  
was sleeping. She said Scully was in a lot of pain  
  
and hadn't slept well that night. He winced at the   
  
thought of Scully in pain. Of course, he didn't want   
  
to disturb her.  
  
While Mulder hung up the phone in his office, at   
  
Scully's apartment, she was just walking into her   
  
kitchen.  
  
"Did I hear the phone, Mom?"   
  
"Dana! You should be resting. Well, now that you're  
  
up, let me make you some breakfast."  
  
"The phone, Mom. Who called?"  
  
"It was Fox, dear," her mother answered as she cracked  
  
an egg into a bowl. Dana had been very specific--if   
  
Fox called, he was to be put off. She wasn't ready or  
  
able to speak to him. Margaret didn't know many of the   
  
details about what had happened to Dana yesterday, but   
  
she had a feeling Fox had done something to upset her   
  
daughter.   
  
"He wondered how you were feeling. Are you sure you   
  
don't want to talk to him if he calls again?"  
  
"Yes, I'm sure. I...I can't talk about it right now,  
  
but I'm not ready to speak to him."  
  
"He loves you, Dana. I could see that when you were   
  
missing. I don't know what he did that upset you so  
  
much dear but I know he loves you."  
  
"I'm sure he does Mom but only as a friend."   
  
"I wish you'd talk to him. He looked so miserable  
  
when I found him this morning."  
  
"You found him?" Scully asked. What did her mother  
  
mean?  
  
"When I got here this morning, poor Fox was fast   
  
asleep curled up outside your door. He seemed so  
  
sad and upset, but he wouldn't come in."  
  
Oh no, Scully thought. She wouldn't be able to handle  
  
seeing Mulder if he came back when she was alone.   
  
"You know Mom, I think I'm going to take you up on your   
  
offer to stay with you for a little while." Scully hoped  
  
her mother would allow her to change the subject. She  
  
just couldn't talk about Mulder any more. "It will be   
  
easier for you not to have to drive out here every day."  
  
In all the times Scully had been injured on the job--even  
  
when she'd almost died after her abduction, she'd rushed  
  
to get back to work. Each time, she'd fought the doctors,  
  
insisting on going back at least on desk duty. Her work   
  
and Mulder were her lifeblood and she needed them both.   
  
But that was before her partner turned to someone else and  
  
before Scully had humiliated herself. Cowardly perhaps  
  
but she just couldn't face going back just now  
  
So, for the next four weeks, the length of time her   
  
doctor had put her on disability for, Scully moved into  
  
her mother's house. She rested, allowed Margaret to   
  
coddle her and generally tried to get her mind off  
  
Mulder, the X-Files, and Ronni Alain.   
  
But most of all, she tried to forget that disastrous  
  
kiss. If anything kept her from returning to the   
  
X-Files, it wouldn't be Mulder's sexual obsession   
  
with Ronni, but her own embarrassment over forcing her  
  
own attentions on her partner. It wasn't like he'd  
  
ever expressed any interest in Scully. He'd never   
  
led her on. She could say that she'd been   
  
under the influence of narcotics and trauma, but  
  
the truth was, she'd only done what she always  
  
wanted to do and it had turned out very badly.  
  
One thing was certain. She needed to apologize to  
  
Mulder for putting him in such an awkward position.  
  
She wasn't sure if it was possible to continue   
  
working with him. It wasn't the embarrassment of  
  
his rejection of her kiss, though that was possibly  
  
the most humiliating thing she'd ever experienced.   
  
Even so, she could get passed that humiliation.  
  
And it wasn't that she had lost confidence in his  
  
ability to have her back. Yes, she had her concerns.  
  
If Mulder couldn't keep his mind on work when he  
  
was on the job, she would be forced to end their  
  
partnership. But she knew he had been working on  
  
the problem and she believed he wanted to change.  
  
No, the insurmountable problem would be working  
  
every day with a man she loved, but who couldn't  
  
ever return her feelings. The pain of watching   
  
Mulder go home to another woman, day after day   
  
after day--that would break her spirit along  
  
with her heart. She didn't know if she could  
  
handle that.  
  
Her mother tried to get her to eat, but Scully   
  
didn't have much appetite. All she wanted to do   
  
was sleep. When she slept, her misery faded away   
  
for a few hours. But slowly her body began to heal.   
  
Margaret Scully was relieved when after a couple   
  
of weeks her daughter started physical therapy   
  
for her shoulder. It turned out that therapy was   
  
just what Scully needed in more ways than physical.  
  
After weeks with her arm in a sling, Scully began   
  
exercising her arm. Getting strength back into   
  
abused muscles was hard work. The therapist had   
  
Scully start by using a weight and pulley device.   
  
The exercises were painful, and Scully grimaced as   
  
she did her repetitions.  
  
"It gets easier." A deep, warm voice drifted  
  
over to Scully. "Hurts like hell in the beginning,   
  
though, if memory serves."  
  
"I'd say your memory is accurate," Scully answered,  
  
grunting with the effort of moving her arm through  
  
the exercise. The truth was, she was annoyed at   
  
having to try and converse when she was working   
  
through painful motions. That is until she looked  
  
up at the speaker.  
  
The man who stood before her leaning on a cane   
  
seemed vaguely familiar, but she was sure she'd   
  
never met him. She'd have remembered a man as   
  
ruggedly handsome as this one. With black hair   
  
and sparkling blue eyes, he had wonderfully mobile   
  
features. His face was deeply tanned, tiny  
  
lines etching a tale of a rugged life. He   
  
flashed her an infectious grin. Scully couldn't   
  
help but smile back.   
  
"You should do that more often," the man said.  
  
"Do what?" she asked.  
  
"Smile," he replied. "It changes your whole   
  
face. You're pretty until you smile, and then  
  
you're breathtaking."  
  
Scully stood there, with her mouth open. The handle   
  
on the pulley machine slipped out of her fingers, and   
  
the weight dropped down with a thunk. Damn. She was   
  
out of practice, having spent so much time with Mulder.   
  
She forgot how to act when a man thought she was  
  
attractive.  
  
"Thank you," she replied when she remembered it was  
  
her turn to speak.   
  
He introduced himself as Joe Clancey and Scully   
  
remembered that she'd seen his picture on the evening  
  
news. A foreign correspondent, he'd been hurt in Africa   
  
covering a conflict between warring tribes. He'd been   
  
captured by one side, after having been shot in the leg.   
  
The story had been all over the news during a couple of   
  
months back, as his news service negotiated his release.   
  
In the end, Joe Clancey had escaped and limped and   
  
then crawled his way to safety in the form of Red Cross  
  
workers. Scully remembered the endless news reports on   
  
Joe's bravery in escaping. Now he was stateside,   
  
undergoing the slow process of rehabilitation for his  
  
injuries.   
  
"My heart is back there," he told her over coffee later.  
  
"I'm going stir crazy wishing I was back where the   
  
action is."  
  
"You remind me of a friend," Scully chuckled. "He's   
  
usually as obsessed as you are with his work."  
  
"Only usually?" Joe asked, laughing. "Doesn't sound  
  
like a very consistent obsession to me."  
  
Scully laughed, and for a moment, the sadness in her  
  
began to ease. Joe was fascinating--he'd been all   
  
over the world reporting the news, usually in the most   
  
dangerous places on the planet. He had a million  
  
stories, that he told her over coffee after their  
  
daily therapy sessions.   
  
Soon, coffee dates turned into dinner dates. Margaret  
  
Scully viewed Joe with a certain wariness. She didn't  
  
understand why her daughter couldn't date a nice   
  
accountant or lawyer.   
  
But Margaret did like the way Dana had finally perked up.  
  
She was pretty sure Joe had something to do with that,  
  
even if he wasn't son-in-law material.   
  
Dana had gone on a shopping spree, buying some pretty  
  
new clothes that showed off her tiny waist and curvy   
  
figure. She'd gotten her hair cut in a flattering new   
  
style and had come home from the hair salon with a   
  
brighter red tone. Dana looked more vibrant and healthy   
  
than her mother had seen her look in years.  
  
Scully knew Joe was planning on going back to Africa,  
  
or the Mideast or somewhere dangerous when he was  
  
healed. She wasn't under any delusion that Joe was   
  
going to be a permanent fixture in her life. It  
  
seemed she had exchanged one man with a quest for  
  
another. The only difference was Joe thought she  
  
was sexy and attractive.   
  
Finally, it was time to go back to work. She was  
  
scheduled to return on Monday, so the Friday before,  
  
she'd gone back to her apartment. It felt strange  
  
seeing it for the first time in four weeks, almost  
  
as strange as it had been after her abduction.   
  
That Friday night, she had a date with Joe.  
  
"Wow. You look amazing," he said when she answered  
  
the door in a clingy blue dress. She picked up her   
  
little silver purse, catching a glimpse of herself in   
  
the hall mirror, smiling with satisfaction. It had   
  
been a long time since anyone thought she looked   
  
amazing. It had been even longer since she thought   
  
she looked amazing.  
  
Joe took her to an elegant restaurant not far from   
  
her apartment. His hand was at the small of her  
  
back as they walked into the dining room. A pang  
  
of sadness hit her as she remembered how Mulder   
  
used to do that. Apparently it hadn't meant the  
  
same thing to him as it did to her because he'd   
  
stopped it as soon as he started dating Ronni.  
  
Her heart skipped a beat as they made their way  
  
to the table as across the room, she saw Mulder and  
  
Ronni leaving a table. Her partner's look was a   
  
mixture of surprise and something that looked a   
  
little bit like jealousy. That was certainly odd,   
  
she thought.   
  
"Who's that?" Joe asked as he pushed her chair in.  
  
"My partner and his girlfriend."  
  
"She's a little...obvious, isn't she?"  
  
Indeed Ronni's breasts were practically spilling  
  
out of the top of her skin tight dress and she was   
  
swaying on her stiletto heels as she and Mulder   
  
walked across the room. Ronni hung on Mulder  
  
as if he was a trophy.  
  
"Wow Scully," Mulder said as he reached her table.   
  
"You look great." Ronni's expression was sour   
  
as Mulder's attention turned to Scully. With   
  
Joe smiling at Scully too, it must have been Ronni's  
  
worst nightmare--another woman getting all the   
  
attention.  
  
"Thanks. I'm feeling much better," Scully replied.  
  
Scully introduced everyone, and Joe stood up to   
  
shake Ronni and Mulder's hands. For an awkward moment,  
  
Mulder and Joe stared at each other. Scully thought  
  
she detected some animosity on Mulder's part, but  
  
that didn't make much sense, so she chalked it up to  
  
a testosterone issue.   
  
Mulder couldn't get over how gorgeous Scully looked.  
  
The contrast was obvious between Scully, looking   
  
quietly sexy in a softly clinging blue dress and   
  
Ronni, looking like a cheap tart. Frankly,   
  
Scully was the winner in the sexy contest tonight.  
  
He wondered who this Joe Clancey was. The guy was  
  
a little too good looking for Mulder's comfort level.  
  
And he was all over Scully--putting his hand  
  
on her back when they walked into the room, holding  
  
her hand as it lay on the table.   
  
Dammit, she was supposed to be out on disability,  
  
not hooking up with some gimpy guy. Mulder didn't   
  
know what was wrong with his leg, but he limped   
  
like an old man.   
  
Mulder had missed Scully so much. She'd been all he   
  
thought about for the last four weeks, much to Ronni's   
  
annoyance. He'd thrown himself into his work,   
  
getting to the office before anyone else, and staying  
  
so late he was on a first name basis with the cleaning   
  
staff. That also didn't go over well with Ronni. After  
  
a while that stopped being as much of a problem as Ronni  
  
got busy at work herself, traveling often on   
  
out of town cases.   
  
"Fox baby, lets go," Ronni said sexily as she  
  
insinuated herself into his side. Her tone made it  
  
clear what she planned to do when she got him home.  
  
Scully looked vaguely amused by his obvious embarrassment.  
  
Joe seemed non-plussed.  
  
"We'd better get going," Mulder said apologetically.   
  
"I'll see you on Monday, Scully."  
  
"Bright and early," she answered.  
  
When they got to her apartment, Ronni was out of   
  
her dress before he got her door open. Mulder  
  
hadn't wanted to make love that night--his mind was  
  
swirling with too many emotions. Jealousy warred  
  
with confusion and the ever present guilt. But  
  
Ronni obviously had other ideas.  
  
In minutes, her tongue was down his throat and her   
  
hands busy in his pants. He tried to fight it,   
  
pushing her away but she was persistent. A man can  
  
only stand so much before the natural sex drive  
  
kicks in. Ronni led him off to bed.  
  
For the first time since he met Ronni, his mind   
  
was on someone else as he fucked her. He couldn't   
  
stop picturing Scully. It was Scully's ripe red  
  
mouth kissing him, Scully's creamy white skin under  
  
his hands. It was Scully he was pumping into.  
  
With every thrust, he thought of Scully's translucent  
  
skin and vibrant hair. He was getting so close. His  
  
Scully was beneath him, accepting him. He was going  
  
to come.   
  
"Scully!" Mulder shouted name at the height of climax.  
  
In one stunning moment, he was brought back to reality.   
  
His breath was ragged and his heart was torn as he   
  
looked down at Ronni's angry face.   
  
"You fucking bastard!" Ronni shouted, pushing Mulder off  
  
her and jumping from the bed as if it was on fire.   
  
"Were you screwing me and pretending I was that fat   
  
ugly cow?!"  
  
"I'm sorry. That was...wrong in too many ways to  
  
count."  
  
"No kidding. Don't you ever--EVER--call me by that   
  
bitch's name..."   
  
"Don't insult Scully," he said, his voice chillingly  
  
serious. He felt awful about what he'd done, but he  
  
couldn't allow Ronni to talk about Scully like that.  
  
None of this was Scully's fault.  
  
"I'll do whatever I please and if you want to be with  
  
me, you'll NEVER do that again!" Ronni was screeching  
  
now, her face red with anger.  
  
"Maybe you're right," he said.   
  
"Damn right!"  
  
"No. Maybe you're right about us. I don't know if   
  
I want to be with you anymore."  
  
Continued in part 5... 


	5. Turnabout

Title: Unbreak My Heart - Turnabout   
  
Author: Melpomene  
  
Email:   
  
Rating: R   
  
Spoilers: Season 3  
  
Keywords: M/O, MSR, S/O, Angst  
  
Summary: What happens when you fall in   
  
love with someone who doesn't love you back.  
  
Author's Notes: Thank you so much to everyone  
  
who supported me recently when I came close to  
  
not finishing this story. I appreciate it more  
  
than I can say. I hope you all enjoy this next  
  
chapter.  
  
Part 5 - Turnabout  
  
Mulder checked the clock for the twentieth  
  
time that morning--8:45. Five minutes later than  
  
it had been five minutes ago. Scully was due back  
  
to work that morning and he could hardly stand to  
  
wait. Today, he would find out if Scully was   
  
staying in the partnership.  
  
He checked the clock again. 8:50.   
  
It had been a long four weeks. He'd been suspended   
  
from work for the first two because of his actions   
  
in the Tilley case. He'd gladly served his time,   
  
wracked with guilt over how Scully had been almost  
  
killed.  
  
His relationship with Ronni had spiraled down to  
  
a series of meaningless sexual encounters. Maybe   
  
that was all it had ever been and he'd just been  
  
fooling himself that it was more. He'd come close  
  
to breaking it off the previous Friday but   
  
Ronni had begged him to give the relationship  
  
another chance.   
  
She argued that he'd hurt her feelings by calling   
  
out Scully's name when he came. According to Ronni,  
  
there was no worse insult to a woman then to have a   
  
man make love to her and think about another woman.   
  
Ronni had actually cried, which was something Mulder   
  
had never seen and it had struck his old chord of   
  
guilt. He'd agreed to try again, though he wasn't   
  
sure that was the right thing.   
  
God, he wished Scully would get there. Good news  
  
or bad, he couldn't stand the waiting. Finally,   
  
he heard the sound of high heels tapping their way   
  
closer and closer in the hall outside.  
  
"Good morning," Scully said from the doorway. She  
  
looked more beautiful than he remembered, her hair  
  
shinier and brighter, her skin creamier and her   
  
lips fuller and riper. How could he have worked  
  
with this woman for years and not noticed these   
  
things?  
  
Scully was wearing a trim navy suit and white   
  
blouse. He didn't remember her waist being that  
  
tiny. His hands could probably span it and  
  
hardly leave her breathless. God, he wished he  
  
could leave her breathless.  
  
But Scully looked as calm and cool as a tall   
  
glass of ice water. She looked relaxed and  
  
happy. Maybe that damn Joe was leaving her   
  
breathless.   
  
"I made coffee," he said.   
  
"Oh, good. I could use a cup," she replied as   
  
she walked to the area in the back of the room   
  
where the coffee pot was set up. She smiled to   
  
herself, Mulder seemed as nervous as she was.   
  
She had hardly slept the night before,   
  
anticipating that she'd see Mulder again.   
  
She brought her cup back to her desk, and watched  
  
Mulder fidget in his chair. He cleared his throat.  
  
"Scully, I...uh...I wanted to apologize about...  
  
well, that night at your apartment."  
  
"No Mulder," she began, shaking her head. "I'm   
  
the one who should be apologizing. You've been  
  
perfectly clear that you were never physically  
  
attracted to me. Forcing myself on you..."  
  
"You didn't."  
  
"I most definitely did. I crossed the line and   
  
my only defense was that I'd been through a   
  
traumatic experience and was on a lot of   
  
medication."  
  
"I was just surprised by it, that's all. Scully...  
  
I don't want this to come between us." Mulder  
  
swallowed hard, glancing down at his feet.   
  
"Skinner said you weren't sure if you could stay   
  
in the partnership."  
  
"I thought long and hard about that, Mulder."  
  
She looked down at her hands, trying to compose  
  
herself. She had so much to say, and things   
  
could be made so much worse than they already   
  
were if she said it wrong.  
  
Mulder watched her, so afraid that she was   
  
going to cut him loose. He wanted to beg her  
  
to stay, to tell her that he was only now   
  
realizing what a beautiful and desirable woman   
  
she was--but he didn't have the guts to say  
  
it. Not after the way he'd treated her.  
  
"And what did you decide?" he asked, his voice  
  
cracking a little bit.  
  
"I'm staying," she answered firmly. "But Mulder--   
  
some things have to change."  
  
"Anything, Scully. Just tell me what you want."  
  
She almost laughed at that. If Mulder got in a  
  
panic over a little kiss, what would he say if   
  
she told him she wanted him to make love to her?  
  
Well, maybe she wasn't sure about that anymore  
  
anyway. She'd spent so much time wishing Mulder  
  
would look her way, and he'd never even given her  
  
a glance. Now, someone thought she was pretty  
  
and sexy. Joe Clancey saw her as a desirable   
  
woman. That didn't stop her from wanting Mulder,  
  
but it sure eased the ache.  
  
Joe was a great kisser and he hadn't looked at her  
  
after like she was the creature from the Black  
  
Lagoon. No sir. After kissing her, he kissed her  
  
some more and then looked at her as if she was the  
  
most incredible woman he'd ever seen.  
  
Maybe if she hadn't met Joe, she wouldn't be able  
  
to stay in a partnership with someone she had feelings   
  
for. But Joe's admiration gave her the confidence to   
  
stay and to also speak her mind.  
  
"I don't know how to say this without sounding   
  
jealous of Agent Alain. I'm not...I mean, I have   
  
no reason to be. She's the woman you've chosen to  
  
be with and she comes first in your private life.   
  
I know that. But Mulder, I have to come first   
  
at work. If you can't keep your personal and   
  
professional lives separate, I can't work with you.   
  
I won't ever be put in danger like that again.   
  
Understood?"  
  
"Absolutely. I can't begin to tell you how sorry   
  
I am about what happened Scully. I don't know if   
  
you can ever forgive me--hell, I don't know if I   
  
can ever forgive myself."  
  
"Mulder," she said gently. "I don't blame you.   
  
If you hadn't stepped out of the room, there might   
  
have been two hostages instead of one and who knows  
  
how long it would have been before backup got there."  
  
His eyes remained trained on the floor. He could  
  
barely breath as she spoke. She touched his hand  
  
to get his attention and he looked up at her.  
  
"But the phone did ring, and you let yourself be  
  
distracted. You let your guard down as you dealt  
  
with your girlfriend and I was almost killed.   
  
That can't happen again."  
  
"It won't. Ever. I promise."  
  
He spoke with sincerity, and she believed he meant  
  
it. The true test would be if he could keep his  
  
promise when Ronni was around.  
  
Over the next few days, Scully had wrangled with   
  
the knowledge that Ronni was probably cheating   
  
on Mulder. Should she tell him and risk hurting   
  
him deeply? Would he even believe her, or would   
  
he think Scully was just being jealous? Though   
  
she sincerely didn't think so, there was also the   
  
possibility that she was wrong about Ronni's   
  
infidelity. Scully still wasn't sure what to do.  
  
Mulder was on his best behavior, but Scully had seen  
  
that before and found it to be only temporary. She  
  
hoped that this time, he would be able to keep his  
  
life separated properly.   
  
Scully's biggest concern with coming back to work  
  
had been spending time with a man who didn't love her   
  
back. Watching Mulder at work--pacing the room while   
  
trying to figure out a tough case, reviewing slides as   
  
he'd been the first time she ever saw him, scratching   
  
away at a legal pad as he covered it with case notes--  
  
she did feel a painful tug on her heart.   
  
But somehow, knowing that Joe Clancey thought she was  
  
beautiful and sexy, went a long way toward making work  
  
bearable. Mulder may not find her sexy--may never   
  
look her way--but that didn't mean she was an ugly   
  
drone. Not anymore.  
  
Joe had been in New York for a few days to meet with   
  
network news people. He was hoping to find something  
  
news related to do while he completed his physical   
  
therapy. Scully knew Joe hoped to get back to work in   
  
the field as soon as possible. She'd miss him, but   
  
no one understood the need to work more than Scully.   
  
Mulder hadn't asked her about Joe. Scully was glad   
  
about that--relieved in a way that there had been no   
  
phone calls at work, no lunches out for either her or   
  
Mulder. It allowed them to spend a little time   
  
together and heal their work relationship.   
  
A few days after coming back to work, Scully was   
  
checking on some test results just before quitting   
  
time. She'd been hoping that Mulder wouldn't mind   
  
shelving the work until the morning as Joe was calling   
  
her that night from New York.   
  
It had been a good long time since Scully had seen   
  
Ronni, and she'd hoped to extend that lucky streak but  
  
her good luck was about to end. Ronni stood in the   
  
doorway of the office, her strong perfume wafting over  
  
the air. The other woman had stopped down in the  
  
basement to collect her boy-toy.   
  
"Why Agent Scully, you look so much better," Ronni Alain  
  
purred. "You're so slim now." Trust the woman to   
  
remind everyone in the room that she's looked so  
  
much worse in the past.   
  
"Why thank you," Scully said, ironically. She crossed  
  
to her desk and opened the drawer to get her purse.   
  
"So, what's Joe Clancey like?" Ronni asked, covetously.  
  
"I'll bet he's fascinating."  
  
"He is," Scully answered, cautiously.  
  
"Joe Clancey," Mulder said, thoughtfully. He'd thought  
  
the guy was familiar when he saw Scully with him, but  
  
he hadn't been able to place him. Now, it came back  
  
to him. "The foreign correspondent?"  
  
"Yes darling, that's him. Isn't it exciting! Our little   
  
Agent Scully has found herself a real celebrity."  
  
"I'll be on my way," Scully said as she gathered up her  
  
belongings. "Have a good night, Mulder...Agent Alain."  
  
Mulder watched her rush out of the room. He wondered   
  
if she had a date with Joe Clancey. She hadn't mentioned  
  
the man since the night Mulder and Ronni had run into  
  
them. He hoped his partner wasn't setting herself up for  
  
a fall. A guy like Joe Clancey could bring a lot of  
  
heartache.  
  
He wondered if his partner was in love with this guy.  
  
Men like Joe Clancey never settled down. What was   
  
Scully thinking? She was never going to have a life  
  
with a guy who travelled the world, always living on   
  
the edge. Who the hell knew--maybe Clancey was one of  
  
"them." A guy shows an interest in Scully out of the  
  
blue--who knew where he came from anyway?  
  
The last few days had been an excruciating rollercoaster  
  
ride. He'd gone from seeing his partner as "one of the   
  
guys" to being hyper aware of her as a desirable woman.   
  
He'd become fascinated with her every graceful movement  
  
--the way she tucked her hair behind her ear, or tapped her   
  
fingernail against the table when she was deep in thought.   
  
He found himself standing close to her, just to smell   
  
the clean scent of her soap and cologne. If he thought   
  
she wouldn't break his arm, he'd have put his hand on   
  
the small of her back when they walked out of the room   
  
together.   
  
His date with Ronni went the way their dates always  
  
seemed to go these days--boring conversation followed  
  
by wild, but for him unsatisfying sex. Devouring him   
  
sexually, Ronni was even more predatory in bed than  
  
she'd ever been. It was Mulder who was changing. Afterwards,   
  
he felt increasingly uncomfortable with the emptiness   
  
of the experience.  
  
The next morning, Mulder arrived to find Scully  
  
already at work. The scent of coffee filled the air  
  
and his partner was humming offkey as she typed.  
  
"Hi Mulder," she greeted him. "Coffee's on."  
  
"Somebody's in a good mood," he said.   
  
"I guess I am," she answered. Joe was flying back   
  
today. He'd called her last night and invited her   
  
to dinner. She and Joe hadn't gone beyond kissing  
  
and touching each other since they started going out.  
  
Scully was wondering if tonight would be the night  
  
things would change--the night they started making  
  
love.  
  
Apparently the news in New York had been good--he'd   
  
be consulting on some news stories in Washington.   
  
Granted, it was mild fare in comparison to what Joe   
  
was used to, but for the stir-crazy reporter, it was   
  
better than nothing.  
  
"Hot date last night?" Mulder asked, sounding a   
  
little crankier than usual.   
  
"No actually. I had an early night. You?"   
  
"Don't ask," he replied, annoyed. Damn it,  
  
the scratches on his back hurt. Ronni had  
  
been rough, raking her nails down his back and  
  
leaving him raw and sore. "So, why weren't you   
  
out with that reporter guy?"  
  
"Joe?" she asked. "He's been out of town. He's coming  
  
home today, though."  
  
"Scully...how much do you know about this Joe guy?"  
  
"What do you mean 'how much do I know about him?' All   
  
I had to do was watch the 6:00 o'clock news to know  
  
all about him."  
  
"I know all about that. What I mean is..."  
  
"You want to know his intentions? Mulder, you're   
  
not my father. I can take care of myself."   
  
"I know you can take care of yourself. But I just  
  
don't want you to get hurt. Joe Clancey's not the  
  
type to settle down."  
  
"Since when are you an expert in Joe Clancey, or in  
  
settling down for that matter? And who said that's   
  
what I want?" she replied, laughing. "I'm not looking   
  
for a lifetime committment, Mulder. It was just nice..."   
  
She drifted off, shaking her head. She didn't owe   
  
Mulder any explanations. Not after the way he'd   
  
treated her.  
  
"What was nice?" His voice was soft and gentle.  
  
"It was nice to have someone think I'm sexy. Don't take  
  
this the wrong way, Mulder, but working with you   
  
just about destroyed my self-confidence."  
  
"Scully, what on earth did I ever say or do to hurt   
  
you?" Mulder asked, obviously upset.  
  
"You didn't," she said gently, laying her hand on his  
  
arm. "You've always treated me as an equal and that's  
  
meant a lot to me. But, I'm clearly not your type,   
  
Mulder."  
  
"Scully--" he protested, fumbling for something to say.   
  
What could he say--I never thought you were my type until   
  
someone else wanted you? It was true--he'd written her  
  
off as a sexual being until he saw her walk into that  
  
restaurant in her clingy blue dress. On the arm of another  
  
man.  
  
"You can't change what attracts you, Mulder. I'm not  
  
trying to make you feel guilty. But, well...after a   
  
while, I started to feel invisible...as a women, that   
  
is. With the hours we work, I had no time for a social   
  
life, and the man I spent 90% of my time with saw me   
  
as one of the guys."   
  
At his look of shock, she shook her head. "I'm not   
  
complaining--really. You've always been a perfect  
  
gentleman to me. It's just that when I met Joe, I  
  
realized how nice it was to have a man look at me and  
  
see a woman and not one of the guys."  
  
"Scully, I never knew...you felt that way."  
  
"Honestly, it didn't bother me in the beginning.   
  
But after you started seeing Ronni, I realized that  
  
I wanted a man to look at me the way you looked at her."  
  
"Scully, I don't know how to ask you this, so I'm   
  
just going to ask. This guy came into your life  
  
suddenly and wham bam--you're dating him. How do  
  
you know he isn't...well...one of them?"  
  
Her eyes flashed anger and the hands at her sides closed  
  
up into fists. How dare he? It was okay for him to  
  
go from zero to sixty with Ronni after one case, but   
  
dumpy old Scully meets a nice man and it's a set up.  
  
"What are you saying Mulder? No one except "one of them"  
  
could possibly be interested in poor pathetic ugly Scully?"  
  
Her voice got a little louder and shriller than she  
  
liked but she was so angry.   
  
"That's not what I meant," he said defensively. "I   
  
just don't want you to get hurt."  
  
"That's rich, Mulder. You're concerned about me getting  
  
hurt. I wish you'd been a little more concerned about  
  
that over the last few months."  
  
The phone on Mulder's desk rang, and for a minute,  
  
she thought he wasn't going to answer it--his eyes   
  
seemed locked on hers. Finally, he broke away and   
  
picked up th phone.   
  
"Yes. Okay...yes...four o'clock...yes, sir."  
  
"Skinner wants to see the report from the Crandall case  
  
at four o'clock. Scully..."  
  
"Then we'd better get to work on that report, Mulder,"   
  
she said through clenched teeth.  
  
It had taken all her energy to be as honest as she'd   
  
been and now to have him insult her. She came so close  
  
to telling him about Ronni and her reputation and her  
  
lunchtime trysts. Maybe it was a good thing the phone  
  
rang. No matter how angry she was, hurting Mulder on  
  
purpose wasn't something she wanted to do.  
  
They worked on the report, each of them sneaking looks  
  
at the other. Mulder was miserable. He certainly  
  
had put his foot in his mouth over Joe--hard to   
  
believe a size 13 foot could make it, but then again  
  
his mouth was way too big for his own good.   
  
At four o'clock, they went up to Skinner and presented  
  
their report. Their boss looked the report over,  
  
asking questions from time to time. He was checking  
  
more than just their work--he was reviewing them as   
  
a team. The events at the Tilley farm had seriously  
  
damaged the best partnership he'd ever seen and he  
  
wasn't about to let that go.  
  
Skinner thought there was still a lot of tension  
  
between his two agents. Too much maybe for them to  
  
work effectively. He'd have to watch them carefully  
  
for the next few weeks.  
  
The meeting ended and Mulder and Scully returned to  
  
their office. It was after 5:00 o'clock, so Scully  
  
grabbed her purse.   
  
"I'll see you tomorrow," she said.   
  
Mulder opened his mouth to speak, but he'd probably  
  
only screw things up further, so he just waved   
  
goodnight as she left. How did he get in such a   
  
mess anyway?   
  
He'd fallen in love with his partner, who now wanted  
  
nothing to do with him and had found someone else.   
  
Mulder was stuck dating a sexual vampire who was   
  
bleeding him dry. How could he put things right  
  
again?  
  
He knew Scully was going to get hurt by this Joe  
  
Clancey guy--he just knew it. Joe would romance her  
  
and then leave her when his wounds were healed and he  
  
got sent to another danger zone to report the news.   
  
And then Scully would be heartbroken and Mulder   
  
didn't think he could stand that.  
  
Meanwhile, Scully was getting ready for her date.   
  
Joe was due to come over for dinner. She knew he'd  
  
be really tired after flying to New York, so she'd  
  
offered to cook dinner at her apartment.   
  
The steaks were marinating, the salad was fixed and  
  
dessert had been picked up on the way home from work.  
  
Well, with a little luck, dessert would wait until  
  
morning.  
  
Tonight was the night, Scully thought. Tonight she  
  
was ready to take things to the next step with Joe.  
  
They'd kissed and made out like teenagers, but she'd  
  
held off on taking their relationship further because  
  
she was still unsure. Her conversation with Mulder  
  
today had irritated her enough to throw caution to   
  
the winds.  
  
Scully took a quick shower, paying special attention   
  
to shaving her legs and underarms. It wouldn't be  
  
very sexy to have bandaids on her legs tonight. After  
  
she dried off, she applied her favorite scented body  
  
cream.   
  
She put on silky slacks and a lacy sleeveless top  
  
that clung to her every curve. Strappy sandals completed  
  
the look. She smiled at her reflection in the full  
  
length mirror. A few weeks ago, she never would have  
  
worn such a sexy outfit. She would have felt ridiculous--  
  
like an ugly little duck masquerading as a beautiful  
  
swan. Thanks to Joe, she knew she was that swan.  
  
The doorbell rang and after peaking through the spy-hole,  
  
she smiled and answered the door.  
  
"Hope you're hungry," she said as Joe walked into the   
  
apartment. He handed her a large bouquet of roses.  
  
"I'm starving, and not just for dinner. God, you look  
  
absolutely amazing."   
  
He took her in his arms and kissed her, her mouth opening  
  
under his like a little baby birds. With one hand full  
  
of roses, Scully still managed to curve the other hand   
  
around Joe's neck. His hands were on her, touching her,   
  
cupping her bottom as he fed on her lips. The both ended   
  
up laughing and gasping for air.  
  
"I missed you," she said, as she led him into the kitchen.  
  
She brought the bouquet to her nose and inhaled the   
  
flower's heady fragrance. "These are just beautiful, Joe."  
  
"They pale in comparison to you," he said, laughing. "I   
  
can't believe how cheesy that line sounded."  
  
Scully laughed too, but secretly she loved when Joe said  
  
stuff like that, no matter how cliched or cheesy it might   
  
sound. It had been far too long since anyone complimented  
  
her and she wasn't about to give it up anytime soon.  
  
"Sounded fine to me," she said, sliding her arms around his  
  
waist. "I should probably get dinner started."  
  
"I could wait," he said, sliding his hands under her top.  
  
Her breath caught at the feel of a man's hand on her   
  
bare skin. God, she'd almost forgot what that felt like.  
  
"I thought you were starved," she said, her head swimming  
  
as he cupped her breast through the lacy fabric of her  
  
bra.   
  
"I believe I said I was starving, but not just for dinner,"  
  
her replied. "One of my appetites is far outweighing  
  
the other."  
  
He pulled her closer to him, so she could feel the evidence  
  
of his appetite poking hard and hot against her tummy.  
  
"Come on," she said, laughing and taking his hand. "I   
  
wouldn't want you to go hungry."  
  
"Wait, wait," he said, scooping her up in his arms. "I  
  
wanted to do this since I first met you."  
  
"Joe!" Scully cried out as Joe carried her in the direction  
  
of the bedroom. "I'm too heavy--you'll hurt your leg."  
  
"Nonsense," he said, laughing. "You don't weigh anything  
  
at all. Now, prepare to be ravished, wench."  
  
Continued in part 6... 


End file.
